H-P says it will end tablet, smartphone business

Hewlett-Packard says it will end its tablet computing and smartphone businesses and is considering selling its PC business, the Associated Press reports.

From the AP story:

HP has been rumored for six months to have been in talks to spin off or sell its PC business. But the smartphone and tablet announcement was surprising. HP paid $1.8 billion for smartphone maker Palm in 2009, mostly for the webOS software that powered the devices.

Hewlett-Packard Co., the biggest maker of PCs and printers, has been trying to transform itself to focus more on technology services, much as IBM Corp. did a decade ago. PCs are HP's biggest revenue generator, but it's the least profitable among the company's major divisions.

Our original post:

Computer giant Hewlett-Packard will reportedly announce it is spinning off its personal computer business, according to Bloomberg.

Citing "people familiar with the company's plans," the report says HP will also announce the acquisition of software firm Autonomy for $10 billion.

HP could unveil plans as soon as today, when the company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings.

As many readers have likely noticed, PC sales have dipped in 2011 as the red-hot tablet market continues to gain momentum.

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